Antonio Rudiger: The reason he is leaving Chelsea for Real Madrid
Robin Bairner
- 20 May 2022 11:48 BST
- 3 min read
Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has admitted that has known trouble was brewing over his contract renewal with the club for months.
Rudiger is expected to leave at the end of his current deal in June to join Real Madrid, having starred over the 18 months of Thomas Tuchel’s tenure.
It has not always been so straightforward for the former Roma defender, but under the German, he has developed into a key figure at Stamford Bridge and will find it difficult to leave.
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Rudiger, however, seems to have had time to get his head around the idea. Some sources had suggested that the freezing of Roman Abramovich’s assets, which have caused the sale of the club, was critical in him not signing a new deal, but he has gone on the record to state that the problems started long before then.
“Unfortunately, my contract negotiations had already started to get difficult last fall,” he wrote in the Players’ Tribune.
“Business is business, but when you don’t hear any news from the club from August to January, the situation becomes complicated. After the first offer, there was a long gap of just nothing.
“We’re not robots, you know? You cannot wait for months with so much uncertainty about your future.
“Obviously, no one saw the sanctions coming, but in the end, other big clubs were showing interest, and I had to make a decision. I will leave it at that, because business aside, I have nothing bad to say about this club.”
Rudiger on Tuchel
Meanwhile, the Germany international defender reserved special praise for Tuchel, who picked him up after he was effectively consigned to the scrapheap by predecessor Frank Lampard.
“When Tuchel gave me a chance, I had so much motivation that I was never going back to the bench. I had made up my mind that I was going to give 200% to this club, to this badge — despite everything that was said about me,” he said.
“I will always be thankful to him, because he gave me a chance when I was left for dead.”
Rudiger will leave Chelsea to join up with Real Madrid in July.
